Marathon

So is the predawn bicycle sprint down the route of the L.A. Marathon off or on on Sunday? Looks like it's more off than on. Never officially sanctioned by the city of Los Angeles, officials kind of went along with it for the last few years that Don Ward and his group, Wolfpack Hustle - which organizes bike rides and races - put together the increasingly popular Marathon Crash Race, as it was called. The Police Department, according to Ward himself, did a great job working with him to keep the streets safe for racers, drivers and the “fun ride” participants who set off right after the racers got going.

ASICS America Corp., the sports equipment company with the title sponsorship of this weekend's Los Angeles Marathon, is looking beyond runners. Instead, the brand is hoping to reel in more athletes in other sports, targeting them in an advertising campaign coming later this year and with a specialized training facility in its new Irvine headquarters. “We want to continue building equity with athletes who run,” ASICS America Chief Executive Kevin Wulff said, “but we're expanding our running base to include people who participate in a range of sports.” ASICS America, which has served as an arm of Japanese parent ASICS since 1977, this year expects to see more than $1 billion in sales for the first time in its history.

In years past, the predawn bike race on the L.A. Marathon route just hours before the start of the foot race allowed cyclists an exhilarating dash across town, from Silver Lake to Santa Monica, on 26 miles of dark and empty streets. The Marathon Crash Race, as it was called, was a rare opportunity for bicyclists to commandeer the usually traffic-snarled streets of the city. It was also potentially perilous; city officials were not terribly happy to have cyclists - some of whom would finish the course in about 50 minutes - speeding down streets that had not yet been completely closed off to traffic.

As runners and walkers make their way from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica during Sunday's L.A. Marathon, motorists will face widespread rolling street closures that will surround the route. The street closures will be in various places in Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. To try to ward off congestion and commuter frustration, marathon officials have issued a course closure grid , a map of additional streets that will be closed on Sunday and various other maps and tools to navigate across the county on Sunday.

Los Angeles police say the city ramped up restrictions on a popular nighttime bicycle race along the Los Angeles Marathon route because it posed a danger to public safety. Since 2009, hundreds of cyclists have gathered in the dark along Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake, waiting for road closures to begin along the marathon route, which stretches from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica. Organizer Don Ward canceled this year's Marathon Crash Race, scheduled for Sunday morning, after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from the city of Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services.

Days before the Los Angeles Marathon, organizers canceled a popular nighttime bicycle race along the 26.2-mile route because they did not obtain the proper permits. Every year since 2009, hundreds of cyclists have gathered in the dark along Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake, waiting for road closures to begin along the marathon route, which stretches from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica. Just after 4 a.m., cyclists swarm the streets to enjoy three hours of car-free fun on some of Los Angeles's normally most congested boulevards.

Marathoner Erick Mose of Kenya spent most of the last five years living and training in Toluca, Mexico. The near 9,000-foot altitude and proximity to races in Mexico, the United States, Canada and Central and South America have made the region a popular training destination for many Kenyan runners. Last March, Mose traveled from Mexico to Los Angeles to run the ASICS LA Marathon for the first time. He won and collected $25,000 - the biggest check of his career. On Sunday, the 27-year-old Mose will try to become the third male runner to repeat as L.A. Marathon champion in consecutive years.

I-N-D-E-F-A-T-I-G-A-B-I-L-I-T-Y. Indefatigability means tireless determination, but these students almost certainly know that. Two spelling bee competitions in the Midwest over the weekend had to be suspended and rescheduled when their brilliant young contestants dueled for hours to a temporary tie, having mastered dozens of bizarre and foreign words at an early age. After more than 60 rounds of the Jackson County Spelling Bee in Missouri and...

Former child star and later U.S. ambassador Shirley Temple Black died Monday at age 85. TCM plans to air a marathon of her most popular films on March 9. The marathon, which begins at 1:30 p.m. PST, begins with "Heidi," her 1937 film based on the Swiss children's story. Other films in the lineup include "Stowaway" and "Bright Eyes," the 1934 film that featured her singing "On the Good Ship Lollipop" and paved the way for Shirley Temple Development to be set up at 20th Century Fox. PHOTOS: Shirley Temple Black, 1928-2014 "The Little Princess," "I'll Be Seeing You," "A Kiss for Corliss" and "That Hagen Girl" will also be part of the marathon.